'Solid' forecast from Apple chipmaker Skyworks may bode well for 'iPhone 7' production

September-quarter guidance by Apple supplier Skyworks may back the idea of healthy "iPhone 7" production, despite some previous hints to the contrary, according to a new investor memo seen by AppleInsider.

Skyworks -- which produces some power and wireless components for Apple -- is anticipating a 10 to 11 percent rise in revenue in the September quarter, Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um noted on Friday. That's stronger than any of its iPhone launch quarters in the past four years, with the exception of 2014, when Skyworks was forecasting a 47 percent growth coinciding with the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Because the firm has other clients, it's hard to tell for certain if the guidance is linked to Apple, Um cautioned. In fact June was reportedly weak for the supplier's Apple business. The analyst added, however, that Skyworks management has pointed to its current inventory being raw materials or work in progress, rather than leftovers from previous production.

In June, Terry Gou -- the chairman of Apple's main manufacturing partner, Foxconn -- reportedly told subordinates to expect weak iPhone sales until early next year. That would seemingly contradict forecasts for suppliers like TSMC and Broadcom, which are expected to do well in the run-up to this fall's iPhone launch.

Nevertheless, the "iPhone 7" may not be a blockbuster, as it's predicted to be another interim upgrade improving speed, storage, and camera technology. A major redesign is only expected in next year's model, which could include an edge-to-edge OLED/AMOLED display, possibly even integrating FaceTime and Touch ID components.

Comments

Well I can safely predict that those 10-11 rise won't come from Apple if those rumors about the iPhone 7 are true. iPhone 7 with the predicted features at propably the same price aren't competitive any more. Next Tuesday will be the moment of truth about what's coming in the foreseeable future. They're are getting so far behind on all fronts right now that it's hard to believe they'll recover the amount of customers they're losing every day. Do they announce profits next Tuesday? Propably yes, but market share will be down on every hardware category they're in. You're allowed to shoot me if I prove wrong next Tuesday Just kidding about that last of course

Apple is very healthy financially, so profit is not a question. Here is a chart illustrating the long-term trend of their profitability. Taking into account seasonal fluctuations, the long-term trend in AAPL profitability is clearly upward: both the peaks and the valleys increase year-over-year. https://ycharts.com/companies/AAPL/net_income

You may be right about Apple losing marketshare, but that's not necessarily bad financially. Having a large % of a low-margin (or negative margin) business would be bad.

The idea of marketshare is so wrong. I cannot understand how people keep speaking of Apples marketshare as if it's important. Apple is not losing customers. The market as a whole is increasing the number of available customers. And if the number of available customers grows faster than Apple grows their number of customers then Apple's market share based on customers will be less. Apple runs a profitable business.

Apple is very healthy financially, so profit is not a question. Here is a chart illustrating the long-term trend of their profitability. Taking into account seasonal fluctuations, the long-term trend in AAPL profitability is clearly upward: both the peaks and the valleys increase year-over-year. https://ycharts.com/companies/AAPL/net_income

You may be right about Apple losing marketshare, but that's not necessarily bad financially. Having a large % of a low-margin (or negative margin) business would be bad.

I know Apple is financially healthy and will make profit next Tuesday. But those earnings will make a steep nose dive. What concerns me more is their lack of competitive new products. They're losing market share on every hardware category they're in. Tuesday numbers will prove it. Apple was about selling the best. Tim repeated that when he visited India. Well, they aren't anymore and the prizes aren't justified anymore or competitive either.

The idea of marketshare is so wrong. I cannot understand how people keep speaking of Apples marketshare as if it's important. Apple is not losing customers. The market as a whole is increasing the number of available customers. And if the number of available customers grows faster than Apple grows their number of customers then Apple's market share based on customers will be less. Apple runs a profitable business.

Marketshare is important for developers and third parties to invest in. Apple was on the right track for a long time with good, innovative and reasonable prized products. The Apple of today is squeezing the last drops out of their aging products coming at the expense of their loyal customers. Pro users are being left in the cold for a long period of time. They're losing in education, graphic, video industry rapidly. Why? Because they haven't introduced new things and the competition did in a far more rapid pace. They haven't adjust their prizes either. I hate the word Appletax Steve ballmer used to use, but lately it comes to my mind and it's becoming more obvious to other Apple users as well.Apple is about money these days instead of bringing the best to their customers they used to do. Market will respond to that.

@mjhnl: You keep saying "prized" (to value highly) rather than "priced" (the amount required as payment).
You are correct that there is a drastic lack of attention to pro customers. Just take a look at the days since updates: (http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac)
Mac Pro: 946 (released 2013)
MacBook Pro: 1502 (released 2012)
Retina MacBook Pro: 430
MacBook Air: 501
Mac Mini: 645
iMac: 283
The one thing that's actually "recent' is the paltry 12-inch MacBook (at 94 days). These are not the actions of a leading computer company whose success depends on the performance demands of their most enthusiastic users, but rather that of a giant whose shifted its gaze to the hordes of "casual" users that rake in the cash for them.
I used to upgrade on a yearly basis. Apple doesn't allow for that anymore.
I used to do my CUDA processing on the most powerful nVidia cards Apple offered. Apple doesn't even sell nVidia anymore.
I used to regularly expand my bandwidth and power through expansion cards, and internal drives. Apple has abandoned this notion.
The only way a devoted Apple power user can stay relavent today is by building a Hackintosh. This is abominable. However, it's also justified (sadly) because it's not making a dent on their quarterly earnings.
Apple will flourish in its apathy.

@kaipher: Thank you for correcting my poor English. English isn't my first language, that's why . It makes me sad to read that most people care more about how much profits Apple makes as being at the forefront what they once were. What you've written is so true and makes me sad because they used to be a leading computer company too. At the moment it looks like the company is run by share holders who want to make as much profit as they can by investing into the future for as little as possible. Looks like Apple is abandoning the pro business all together (hard- and software).

Marketshare is important for developers and third parties to invest in.

I appreciate your perspective, but I believe the notion of "marketshare drives developers to Android" is incorrect for two reasons:

Profitability: There were reports earlier this week about how developers who support both Andoid and iOS get the majority [80% or more] of their revenue from iOS users.... even taking into account the higher marketshare of Android.

Fragmentation: Developing for Android is more expensive and messy because of the many flavors of Android running on customer devices. Given the low profitability of these customers, some developers will conclude that developing for Android isn't profitable enough to continue.

Well I can safely predict that those 10-11 rise won't come from Apple if those rumors about the iPhone 7 are true. iPhone 7 with the predicted features at propably the same price aren't competitive any more. Next Tuesday will be the moment of truth about what's coming in the foreseeable future. They're are getting so far behind on all fronts right now that it's hard to believe they'll recover the amount of customers they're losing every day. Do they announce profits next Tuesday? Propably yes, but market share will be down on every hardware category they're in. You're allowed to shoot me if I prove wrong next Tuesday Just kidding about that last of course

We don’t shoot idiots who post blathering, made-up nonsense like you just did. We just pity them. You cannot provide even one shred of evidence for your assertions about losing customers. You simply made it up from nothing because it suits your anti-Apple bias. You are like an American politician, someone who thinks if they repeat a lie enough times people will believe it. Sadly you believe your own lies.

Well I can safely predict that those 10-11 rise won't come from Apple if those rumors about the iPhone 7 are true. iPhone 7 with the predicted features at propably the same price aren't competitive any more. Next Tuesday will be the moment of truth about what's coming in the foreseeable future. They're are getting so far behind on all fronts right now that it's hard to believe they'll recover the amount of customers they're losing every day. Do they announce profits next Tuesday? Propably yes, but market share will be down on every hardware category they're in. You're allowed to shoot me if I prove wrong next Tuesday Just kidding about that last of course

We don’t shoot idiots who post blathering, made-up nonsense like you just did. We just pity them. You cannot provide even one shred of evidence for your assertions about losing customers. You simply made it up from nothing because it suits your anti-Apple bias. You are like an American politician, someone who thinks if they repeat a lie enough times people will believe it. Sadly you believe your own lies.

"We"? First of all one person can't speak as "we". Secondly I would love to hear you again after Tuesday when Apple will show a decline in every hardware category they're in. Third I,m not attacking you personally and don't like to be attacked personally for my opinion. Fourth, you can't possibly know what I'm thinking so think for yourself. Fifth Apple is not an religion but a company focused on making profits so don't act like an extremist and respect other opinions. Sixth I'm not anti-Apple just a neglected disappointed long time customer who has been left in the cold by his so called beloved company for too long.

Well I can safely predict that those 10-11 rise won't come from Apple if those rumors about the iPhone 7 are true. iPhone 7 with the predicted features at propably the same price aren't competitive any more. Next Tuesday will be the moment of truth about what's coming in the foreseeable future. They're are getting so far behind on all fronts right now that it's hard to believe they'll recover the amount of customers they're losing every day. Do they announce profits next Tuesday? Propably yes, but market share will be down on every hardware category they're in. You're allowed to shoot me if I prove wrong next Tuesday Just kidding about that last of course

The old iPhone market share argument, trotted out every quarter. Too many toss that around as though all other things were equal, which they are not.

Apple’s share of the overall smartphone market is meaningless. All of the usual benefits of larger market share accrue to Apple regardless; manufacturing economies of scale to keep costs low and provide high margins, most desired brand among all market participants, ecosystem lock-in to get development done on your platform first, and the lion’s share of global profits. It gains these benefits from having majority share of the most important segment of the smartphone market; that being the premium smartphone market.

The reason Apple"s share of global shares declines was explained by Cook very clearly; it's because there are about 2 billion people still using feature phones, typically people who cannot afford anything more expensive. So these people, when transitioning to smartphone's, are going with the cheapest handsets and That means an Android handset. But as people transition through the Android universe, to higher-priced and more capable handsets, they eventually come to the iPhone and those who can afford one, but one. But there's far more people transitioning at any given time from feature phones to smartphone's than from Android to iPhone. Cook described Android as training wheels for the iPhone. That's an apt description.

Well I can safely predict that those 10-11 rise won't come from Apple if those rumors about the iPhone 7 are true. iPhone 7 with the predicted features at propably the same price aren't competitive any more. Next Tuesday will be the moment of truth about what's coming in the foreseeable future. They're are getting so far behind on all fronts right now that it's hard to believe they'll recover the amount of customers they're losing every day. Do they announce profits next Tuesday? Propably yes, but market share will be down on every hardware category they're in. You're allowed to shoot me if I prove wrong next Tuesday Just kidding about that last of course

The old iPhone market share argument, trotted out every quarter. Too many toss that around as though all other things were equal, which they are not.

Apple’s share of the overall smartphone market is meaningless. All of the usual benefits of larger market share accrue to Apple regardless; manufacturing economies of scale to keep costs low and provide high margins, most desired brand among all market participants, ecosystem lock-in to get development done on your platform first, and the lion’s share of global profits. It gains these benefits from having majority share of the most important segment of the smartphone market; that being the premium smartphone market.

The reason Apple"s share of global shares declines was explained by Cook very clearly; it's because there are about 2 billion people still using feature phones, typically people who cannot afford anything more expensive. So these people, when transitioning to smartphone's, are going with the cheapest handsets and That means an Android handset. But as people transition through the Android universe, to higher-priced and more capable handsets, they eventually come to the iPhone and those who can afford one, but one. But there's far more people transitioning at any given time from feature phones to smartphone's than from Android to iPhone. Cook described Android as training wheels for the iPhone. That's an apt description.

I wish you're right and this was propably so a few years ago. At the moment those cheap android phones are capable in doing the same as the iPhones. The midrange androids are on par with the iPhone and the premium Androids are exeeding the iPhone. That's why iPhone 7 needs to be a lot better or a few hundred dollars cheaper as the iPhone 6 now. Cook also said that Apple was only interested in making the best phones... Wait for the numbers next Tuesday. I'm not afraid to apologize when I was wrong.

Secondly I would love to hear you again after Tuesday when Apple will show a decline in every hardware category they're in.

When your statements are so generally critical...and it comes across as a troll or a blathering idiot.If you want to own up to your statement then be more specific...what do you mean by a "decline"? Market share, profitability, ASP, unit sales?

Nobody questions that there will be market share decline Q/Q or Y/Y...and if because of seasonality or launch cycles then profitability is not as dire as you wildly proclaim.

There's something called ecosystem and strategy which smooths out profit fluctuations...you should read about it and then comment on that.

We don’t shoot idiots who post blathering, made-up nonsense like you just did. We just pity them. You cannot provide even one shred of evidence for your assertions about losing customers. You simply made it up from nothing because it suits your anti-Apple bias. You are like an American politician, someone who thinks if they repeat a lie enough times people will believe it. Sadly you believe your own lies.

"We"? First of all one person can't speak as "we". Secondly I would love to hear you again after Tuesday when Apple will show a decline in every hardware category they're in. Third I,m not attacking you personally and don't like to be attacked personally for my opinion. Fourth, you can't possibly know what I'm thinking so think for yourself. Fifth Apple is not an religion but a company focused on making profits so don't act like an extremist and respect other opinions. Sixth I'm not anti-Apple just a neglected disappointed long time customer who has been left in the cold by his so called beloved company for too long.

You might not think you are anti-Apple, but you are 100% negative in every post you make. You troll the forums and post sh*t without any sources to back it up.

Your statements are often completely ridiculous and without merit - like "Apple is so far behind on all fronts". Samsung does have a good phone with the S7, but they have hardly leap frogged Apple. Reviews have the camera and battery life better, with better (but not up to advertised) water proofing, and some like the Samsung Pay loop tech. But it is also stated that the device is a smudge magnet, front facing camera and (copied) flash produce sub-par photos, and poor screen reflectivity. The fingerprint scanner is not as good. iPhone 6s is just behind in benchmarks, and you can bet the next version in 3 months to claim that crown again. History has shown Apple devices to last longer and retain value better.

I must have have missed the news related to Samsung's great PC lineup, the great advances in tablets, the leadership of their smart watches , how their music service and services business are killing it on all fronts. Or how Microsoft is selling more Surfaces than iPads. Behind on all fronts my ass...

You are a troll, and based on the fact you continually come to a forum to post nothing but negatives about a company you clearly don't like, indicates you might also be a sociopath. You might not like to hear that, but it doesn't make it any less true. For your own mental health, you might want to try posting positive things over on a Samsung or Android site.